Martial Arts

[The Luna Diviner]

Just currious. Anyone here taking any form of martial arts? If so what kind and what rank?

Ive got about five years of martial arts expirience in various styles and i was looking to see if anyone else had any and wanted to discuss some things.

Also, if youve never done any but have comments id appriciate that too.

Basically anything general on martial arts.

Weapons styles work too, even if youve never had professional training in them. I have Bo staff and Japanese sword training, and im taking Sai and Nunchaku training now.

[Salkafar]

No, never. I am not married (yet).

Oh, wait, that's marital arts.

Anyway, no, never ever.

It occurs to me that when most people say 'martial arts' they usually mean unarmed martial arts like Karate and Aikido. But the term literally means the arts of war, the arts of Mars. Technically, wouldn't that include sniping, tank driving and precision bombing?

[LordSpleach]

Personally I've never studied Martial Arts, but for a few years my brother did study Tae Kwon Do, but stop a little after he became a Brown Belt.

[odin]

when I was younger I was taught a bit of boxing,

Tae Kwon do and judo but did not get that far, just a few tips and that's about it, I liked Judo the best since it helped me on always keeping my balance, I use boxing's training routine mostly to keep myself in shape although i have been neglecting it a bit since i have been a bit busy lately.

[durendal]

And to quote Keanu Reeves in Matrix, "I know Kung Fu".

I'm not sure what style it's called, but it mainly deals with having strong legs and arms. I also remember one style roughly translated as "20 punches".

[Bobby]

I want to learn martial arts. Unsure as to which style, though. Leaning on Wushu like Jet Li.

[*Jess♥]

if you're interested in body control and balance and self defence, look for a jeet kune do class.

it's not a specific style, it's more of a philosophy and will incorporate lots of different styles,

I went to a few JKD sessions and found myself learning bits of muay thai kick boxing, kali, pantjak silat

[river_chaos]

I did a little of Tae Kwon do, but stopped at the orange belt level.

[LordSpleach]

Martial Arts Wiki

Here's the wiki article for those who want to know what we mean by the different fighting styles.

[Aether]

technically wu shu is more accurate than kung fu right??

wu shu is martial arts, any art that you consistently practice is kung fu - or 'acquired skill' .cooking, drawing, writing etc. if you practice consistently and get good can be termed 'kung fu'.

i practice Taiji Quan. i consider this a wu shu art, it is a chinese martial art and if you know what youre doing its brutal and - once again if you know what youre doing - it is also very good for your health.

i am working to aquire kung in taiji. it is a multi faceted art - so it may take me another 40 years, but thats my aim , i will get stronger and more skilled as i get older. my main aim is health but if i can learn some techniques to neutralise people along the way, then thats all good by me. im past the age where i want to learn to just FIGHT!!

[The Luna Diviner]

technically wu shu is more accurate than kung fu right??

wu shu is martial arts, any art that you consistently practice is kung fu - or 'acquired skill' .cooking, drawing, writing etc. if you practice consistently and get good can be termed 'kung fu'.

i practice Taiji Quan. i consider this a wu shu art, it is a chinese martial art and if you know what youre doing its brutal and - once again if you know what youre doing - it is also very good for your health.

i am working to aquire kung in taiji. it is a multi faceted art - so it may take me another 40 years, but thats my aim , i will get stronger and more skilled as i get older. my main aim is health but if i can learn some techniques to neutralise people along the way, then thats all good by me. im past the age where i want to learn to just FIGHT!!

Technically you are right, the term Kung Fu was used to describe that your martial arts was good. it was saying you have skill in that particular aspect, like when Bruce Lee said your kung fu is good, he meant you fight well. But in the western sense, the term is used interchangebly with Shaolin martial arts of China. So saying you practice Kung Fu isnt wrong, its just not the traditional use of the term. At least as ive come to understand it in my years of martial arts.

Ive never heard of your styles before. Do you do alot of medetation in it? Some chinese styles dont, so i was just currious. I took Aikido for a number of years which was great for defensive martial arts like you were describing. we didnt learn to fight so much as we learned how to end them using more gentle menuvers. dont get me wrong, we broke elbows and wrists (i even learned a spine breaker move at brown belt) But it was more the way of the pacifist warrior like you were describing. Japense also, so we followed the Bushido code (at least our Sensei's version that was passed down through the generations).

[durendal]

Ah, ok, let my clarify my statements. Indeed, Kung Fu is more or less a generic term. To be more precise, it's literal meaning is "Skills Mastery". I'm not certain what our art is called, but I seem to remember it being called "Kok Sut" or National Arts. I learned this from a volunteer class, and my friends family has a dojo where I also happen to practice. This art mainly deals with strengthening the limbs, and an avid practitioner would have his body look like popeye more or less. (you practice punching while holding a 40 lbs dumbell in each hand) Another aspect of our arts also deals with Dragon Dance. Which is why you need to have strong limbs. But holding the dragon head is already an advanced style.

Edited August 2, 2011 by durendal

[Aether]

This art mainly deals with strengthening the limbs, and an avid practitioner would have his body look like popeye more or less.

That style sounds intersting durendal - the reference to Popeye made me laugh - Popeye Quan or Popeye no Ken!!!

Ive never heard of your styles before. Do you do alot of medetation in it? Some chinese styles dont, so i was just currious. I took Aikido for a number of years which was great for defensive martial arts like you were describing.

Aikido does seem a good parallel to taiji in its approach to incoming force. Im sure you have heard of Tai Chi , although its mainly associated with old people moving slowly its actually a deadly martial art. it was so revered as a martial art that the emperor of china made his imperial bodyguards learn it.

as for meditation i am not personally taught it but i do meditate as a supplement to it, in some taiji it is taught, its all on the style the teacher and what level you are at. it also depends on the kind of mediatation you mean and the aim of it.

[The Luna Diviner]

Aikido does seem a good parallel to taiji in its approach to incoming force. Im sure you have heard of Tai Chi , although its mainly associated with old people moving slowly its actually a deadly martial art. it was so revered as a martial art that the emperor of china made his imperial bodyguards learn it.

as for meditation i am not personally taught it but i do meditate as a supplement to it, in some taiji it is taught, its all on the style the teacher and what level you are at. it also depends on the kind of mediatation you mean and the aim of it.

oh, ok, i have heard of tai chi, but ive never really looked into the practice specifically.

Meditation has done wonders for me. Ive been taught two styles of medetation for both my martial arts. one is centered around focusing on nothing but your breathing so that when you do your moves, your body knows how to breathe without you having to think about it. the other style was Japanese and focused more on calming the mind and achieving serenity within so that you can stay relaxed during combat. Personally i like them both, and currently im working on a hybrid between the two. if you wanted, i could explain those more in detail, but meditation isnt for everyone so i understand either way.

As for Aikido, i really loved it. I was about a month away from my brown belt test when i sustained injury and had to quit, and then life got in the way and it was four years later before i knew it. One day ill go back and finish my training and get my black belt.

But the thing i loved about aikido was the controll it presented. You never lost in no matter what and its a valuable life skill to have in more than just fighting. Plus we did alot of weapons training (im skilled with a japanese sword ((katana) and even better with a staff, we also did knife fighting but less so), so that was fun to learn. Plus the japanese code of conduct that we learned is very valuable for conducting yourself in life.

[Aether]

ive done various meditative things but nothing as exact as being described specifically focused for martial application so they would be interesting to hear. PM me if you like, as like you said its not for everyone and im not sure how responsible it would be putting techniques up for just any one to come across.

i am learing the Sabre /broadsword(Dao) at the moment, in the future i will learn spear and maybe the straight sword aswell.

i hope you get back to Aikido some time it sounds like it would be worthwhile.

i think if i was to learn something with the mind to specifically learn self defense in a shorter span of time it would be Aikido, Wing Chun or Jeet Kune Do. i would also like to learn Bagua, but who knows. the list is endless i suppose ,eagle claw, praying mantis, Hung gar, 5 animals, all weapons!! etc. man- if only i was 1. Rich 2. immortal to have enough time OR 3. in the Matrix film i could just download them!!

i do however think arts that can spill into your everyday life to enrich your mind spirit and body (as long as you dont break yourself too much doing it) are better for you. how many times will we actually need to use the martial in your life compared to your normal day to day activities? hopefully never.. if you can build yourself to be a good person at the same time as becoming confident in having a chance of self defense if ever needed that is better than just building up techniques just for the sake of feeling superior, which unfortunately some martial artists do.

Edited August 2, 2011 by Eether

[Bobby]

The fact that martial arts can sharpen not just one's reflexes, but their minds is a deal maker for some.

[The Luna Diviner]

ive done various meditative things but nothing as exact as being described specifically focused for martial application so they would be interesting to hear. PM me if you like, as like you said its not for everyone and im not sure how responsible it would be putting techniques up for just any one to come across.

i think if i was to learn something with the mind to specifically learn self defense in a shorter span of time it would be Aikido, Wing Chun or Jeet Kune Do. i would also like to learn Bagua, but who knows. the list is endless i suppose ,eagle claw, praying mantis, Hung gar, 5 animals, all weapons!! etc. man- if only i was 1. Rich 2. immortal to have enough time OR 3. in the Matrix film i could just download them!!

i do however think arts that can spill into your everyday life to enrich your mind spirit and body (as long as you dont break yourself too much doing it) are better for you. how many times will we actually need to use the martial in your life compared to your normal day to day activities? hopefully never.. if you can build yourself to be a good person at the same time as becoming confident in having a chance of self defense if ever needed that is better than just building up techniques just for the sake of feeling superior, which unfortunately some martial artists do.

It might be easier if you PM me with maybe what you want me to talk about or if you have any specific questions. I mean, ive done meditation for years, so theres alot i could talk about if not given a direction. If you have the time that is.

Aikido surprisingly was one of the longer martial arts ive taken. it was about an eight year black belt as apposed to the four year black belt program im in right now, and it really didnt start to click for me until i was in my fourth year (around second degree blue belt). I would love to study Jeet Kune Do simply because im a Bruce Lee fan, so i think that would be fun to learn. And isnt Wing Chun a style of western kung fu? i mean that in the sense that it uses the same principles as western kung fu to develop its moves? i thought it was a derivative of kung fu.

One thing ive always wanted to learn and hope to before i die would be Ninjutsu. not really for practical uses since the art of steath and assassination isnt as practical as it was in feudal Japan, but i think it would be a cool martial art to study.

and i agree that Martial arts is about more than just the self defense taught in class. that was one thing my Sensei from Aikido was adamant about, taking your bushido teachings from class and making them a part of everyday life to be a better person. Plus i think that knowing you can handle yourself in any situation gives you the ability to be a better person. Its humbling, thats how ive always looked at it, not to abuse the power youve been given. but sadly, some people do. I have an instructor at my current school who thinks hes god just because hes a red belt and i cant stand him. Arrogance and martial arts dont go hand in hand.

[Aether]

Ok Luna I'll PM you if i remember and im in the right frame of mind.

to be honest an 8 year blackbelt sounds short to me ,there arent or at least there shouldnt be any belts in tai chi.

that reminds me - i knew someone who started training with a different teacher than me and he said he was doing tai chi, we wernt especially good friends so didnt see him a lot but whenever i saw him i would ask how he was going etc. and he was coming out with these names of stuff i hadnt heard of - and i exstensively reasearch stuff im into - not just my own style of tai chi but i have a little bit of knowldge of the other 5 main styles - but i didnt pay it that much thought and wondered if he was actually doing xing i rather than tai chi. years later after im plodding along with my seemingly slow classes and i heard he was still practicing and now teaching etc. i saw him one time and asked how he was going, so he told me all about how his 2 teachers had just basically made up everything he had been taught in the past 7 years!! - he learnt some self defence and some kind of form i think so it wasnt all a waste, but the teachers made it up! it wasnt authentic stuff, they had grading systems and stuff like that, but it wasnt a legitamate style at all.

if he had been sold it under the name of tai chi he had been terribly lied to. the bad thing is they were even teaching in schools for health reasons!! and like i said if you dont know what youre doing you wont get the benefits.

anyway that just popped in my head, i know grading systems have become standard in most other martial arts taught in a syllabus style but i think that illustrates the point im making with tai chi.

beware of false prophets.

its ironic though, people profess to be things that they arent, yet one of the last true grandmasters of my style didnt even like to be called master, he prefered teacher or even just his name, and he was titled with being one of the 100 Best Martial Artists in China.

I would love to study Jeet Kune Do simply because im a Bruce Lee fan, so i think that would be fun to learn. And isnt Wing Chun a style of western kung fu? i mean that in the sense that it uses the same principles as western kung fu to develop its moves? i thought it was a derivative of kung fu.

Dude Wing Chun is kung fu id say its what Jeet kune do was birthed by as Wing Chun is the style that Bruce Lee was proficient in and as taught by the legendary (y)ip Man (there are even films of him now starrng Donnie Yen). Legend has it that it was devised at shaolin to teach people fast how to kick ass to use against the invading Manchus i think, it cut out all the superfluous stuff and left you with bare bones defense and attack but shaolin temple got burnt down before it could be taught, and a shaolin nun who had been working on it with other monks escaped and then it was spread from then on.

i dont think Bruce used it as such in his movies but i reckon i first saw it in 'the prodigal son' starring Yuen Biao. an awesome kung fu film.

Arrogance and martial arts dont go hand in hand.

they shouldnt, but as youve experienced sometimes they do. i dont know whether power consumes them to make them arrogant or if they are that sort of person and there status then magnifies their ego even more. perhaps a bit of both.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Eether

[The Luna Diviner]

they shouldnt, but as youve experienced sometimes they do. i dont know whether power consumes them to make them arrogant or if they are that sort of person and there status then magnifies their ego even more. perhaps a bit of both.

I think its kind of a different reason for everyone. Like for example if you were pushed around alot as a kid and then became a black belt i can understand you running with that power a little bit becuase you know youre better than those who used to hold power over you. I can see how that would create arrogance. but youre right, they shouldnt go together. Its unfortunate that sometimes they do.

I was thinking about it yesterday, before i pass away, id like to have four or five black belts in different disciplines just because i love martial arts.

Aikido,

Kung Fu

Karate,

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

Jeet Kune Do (although it may be too close to kung fu to require another black belt)

Just something ive always wanted. then maybe teach personalized martial arts based off what styles people want to learn.

[Bobby]

What was the fighting style of Ip Man??? He was Bruce Lee's master.

[The Luna Diviner]

What was the fighting style of Ip Man??? He was Bruce Lee's master.

Wing Chun. Kung fu basically.

[Aether]

What was the fighting style of Ip Man??? He was Bruce Lee's master.

well i know it was in the middle of a long post but i did explain what it is and gave you its history!!

its nice to quote yourself once in awhile:

Dude Wing Chun is kung fu id say its what Jeet kune do was birthed by as Wing Chun is the style that Bruce Lee was proficient in and as taught by the legendary (y)ip Man (there are even films of him now starrng Donnie Yen). Legend has it that it was devised at shaolin to teach people fast how to kick ass to use against the invading Manchus i think, it cut out all the superfluous stuff and left you with bare bones defense and attack but shaolin temple got burnt down before it could be taught, and a shaolin nun who had been working on it with other monks escaped and then it was spread from then on.

i dont think Bruce used it as such in his movies but i reckon i first saw it in 'the prodigal son' starring Yuen Biao. an awesome kung fu film.

I was thinking about it yesterday, before i pass away, id like to have four or five black belts in different disciplines just because i love martial arts.

Aikido,

Kung Fu

Karate,

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

Jeet Kune Do (although it may be too close to kung fu to require another black belt)

id try to stay away from envisioning black belts in any paticular style of kung fu or jeet kune do, i think a lot of JKD is philosophy and sparring and it stems from wing chun anyway.

in a sense by the time you have absorbed stuff from the different systems you are exposing /planning to expose yourself to you will kind of be creating your own jeet kune do anyway. if that makes sense.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Eether

[odin]

What was the fighting style of Ip Man??? He was Bruce Lee's master.

Wing Chun, A martial art created by a woman that uses his/hers opponents power against them, that woman taught Ip Man that martial art I believe her name was Yim Wing Chun (the martial art is of course named after her) .

Edited August 4, 2011 by odin

[Aether]

well supposedly Yim Wing Chun learnt it from the shaolin nun who i alluded to twice (oh -and if anybody actually reads the post it was to go against the Qings not the Manchus)

[*Jess♥]

I was very close with somebody that came from foshan, the home city of yip man.

she didn't know anyone of import though.

and she didn't train in wing chun, although she showed me some of her tai chi and was very good, rather beautiful.